EN
Psammon habitats like freshwater sandy shores are the peculiar sites due to high fluctuation of physico-chemical conditions and due to the specific composition of the organisms communities distributed along the horizontal pattern related to the wave action. Taxonomic composition, numbers and biomass of phytopsammon were studied in hygroarenal (shore sand beach wetted by lake waves) of the small beach of the eutrophic Lake Mikołajskie (area 498 ha, max. depth 26 m) (Masurian Lake District, Poland). Samples were collected on one occasion (26 June 2003) from 30 sampling stations distributed parallel to lake shore along 10 m line at three different distances (sampling points A, B, C) from 0 to 60 cm from water line. The studies showed distinct horizontal distribution of psammon algae. Their numbers and biomass varied from 2.22 to 31.85 × 03 cm–3 of sand and from 0.49 to 4.69 μg cm–3 of sand, respectively. Mean numbers in all sampling distances were very similar, while the biomass increased with increasing distance from water line. Cyanoprokaryota, among which Oscillatoria spp. were most numerous species, dominated in the numbers, whereas Bacillariophycea (mainly Stephanodiscus hantzschii Grun. and Fragillaria spp.) constituted significant proportion of the total algae biomass. There were no significant correlations between abundance of algae and size fractions of sand. Among taxonomic groups, only the biomass of Cyanoprokaryota showed positive correlations with trophic parameters (TP, TN). The studies did not show any correlations between phytopsammon and the abundances of ciliates and rotifers, suggesting that different environmental factors as well as organisms of the higher trophic levels may play a decisive role in the development and horizontal distribution of algae in hygroarenal of the beach of the eutrophic lake.